Color Me Obsessed is a film for Replacement fans, but without the context of the group's music, it's unlikely to draw in the uninitiated. But that doesn't change the fact that there's a voice missing, leaving viewers a tad unsatisfied. Yes, the film works and, yes, Bechard is challenging the rock-doc norm by refusing to involve the band or their music, even though he could have. In his laughably serious director commentary, Bechard claims that by not involving the band or their music in the film he's "breaking the rules," just like the band, and if you don't like his film, you're not a real Replacements fan. Extras feature deleted scenes, including some fun animated sequences that were meant to transition from album to album. This makes for rather dull viewing - Color Me Obsessed would have actually been a terrific podcast or radio doc, but that would have only reached a quarter of the potential audience. For the most part, Bechard even eschews photos of the group, ensuring that the old adage "show don't tell" is thrown right out the window. The film offers little beyond postscript regarding the group's post-Replacement work, a particularly glaring omission given the tragedy of Bob Stinson's death, which receives little more than passing mention. Color Me Obsessed is a 2011 American documentary film directed, edited and co-produced by Gorman Bechard about the alternative rock band the Replacements. And they have no shortage of admirers ready to sing the group's praises, defend their favourite album or share a hilarious run-in with one of the quartet's often-inebriated members. The Replacements were a band whose legend has always far outstripped their recorded output and, depending on how drunk they were, even some live gigs. The film follows the band's story from future singer/guitarist Paul Westerberg hiding in the bushes, listening to brothers Bob and Tommy Stinson jamming in their parents house, to their unruly early days through their transformation into a critically adored group, with Let It Be, to slicked-up major label stars. These aren't just fly-by-night talking heads - the director rounds up staff from the band's first label, Twin/Tone, including owner Peter Jesperson, producers (Tommy Ramone, who worked on Tim, makes an appearance), critic Robert Cristgau and even Grant Hart and Greg Norton from rivals Hüsker Dü (they're interviewed separately). Instead, he bills his movie as "a potentially true story" and relies on the friends, colleagues and fans that were there to tell the band's tale. In fact, not a single member of the Mats appears in Bechard's film. Unlike other docs, Color Me Obsessed doesn't skirt the rights issues with live versions and archival interviews. But director Gorman Bechard claims he never intended to included tunes from Minneapolis's much loved screw-ups, the Replacements. How do you profile a band without using any of there music? It's not a new dilemma - plenty of el-cheapo, straight-to-DVD docs have done just that, some with interesting results.
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